Cloud Riders (19 page)

"Can we go home now?” she asked, her voice muffled by his chest.

Will held her away from him at arm's length, a hand lightly touching each shoulder, drinking in her image. Tears ran down his cheeks, and he didn't care. Each drop carried with it five years of emotion, hope and desperation.

She started to cry, ducked below his outstretched hands and hugged her brother. Her body shook. “Willis! It
is
you."

Will knew she didn't recognize him at once because of the five year gap in their relationship. Yet she had been instantly recognizable to him; but he had the door's nametag to go by. “Yeah, don't you know. Been looking for you for
five
years. Blimey, did Claude Nab kidnap you?"

"Yes.” She took out a white handkerchief and wiped away Will's tears, then her own. “Has it been five years?"

"I'm pretty sure, I'm thinking, Holly. I don't have a calendar, but sort of know it's been five years. Well, like maybe it's been four or six, wouldn't you know. Did you meet Vicki? Paul Winsome's sister?"

"Why do you ask about her?” She pulled a questioning face.

"I met her and her brother and their cat, didn't I. Because of Kid Badd's laser light flash. Kid Badd is a bloke who has green eyes that shoot out this green ray which tried to cook them I know for sure. I saw the glow, don't you know. That's how I found them, for sure. He tried to burn them to a crisp Paul says, didn't he."

"Vicki is Claude Nab's special girl,” she said, her voice full of something other than joy. “He never visits anymore.” Holly pouted.

"Why would you want him to visit I'm thinking?” Will asked, thrown by her revelation. “I'd think you wouldn't want to have anything to do with him, sort of like. Are you pulling me? He's one mean ape, big as a building like."

"Willis! Would I joke about something as important as that?” She sat on the room's only chair with such force Will thought it would break. “I was his favorite! He'd take me out and hold me in his hand and fly outside, showing me all the cloud shapes and let the sun warm me and—"

"Holly! Are you nuts, I'm thinking?"

"Well, if that's the way you are, you can just go home!"

"You're pulling me?"

She giggled. Jumping up off the chair, Holly raced forward and threw her arms around him once again. Her hug was so tight Will wondered where a girl found the strength most men would be jealous of. “I'm pulling your leg all over the place."

They laughed in celebration. He had forgotten her humor. Her beautiful humor. Making fun of his blackness. At her adopted parents, so black, so smart. Her laugh. Their laugh. And it flashed. How he came, on a dream, the memory of her laughter haunting him, beckoning, pulling him toward her year after year.

"Blimey, Holly, we got to get out of here!"

"But, I have to scream at 7:00 A.M."

Will didn't know if she joked or seriously thought she had to continue her time screams. He pushed her toward the door. “Like, you're fired, kind of."

Three things happened at once. The door wouldn't open, a girl from another hall screamed, and two voices interrupted their escape plans.

"You foolish wee little man,” Calamity's voice jarred through the ice. “I knew you would try to leave my kingdom without so much as a goodbye. Do you—"

"You dumb girl! You think I
in
gested you so—” Claude Nab interrupted.

"Shut up, my pet. This is
my
show. You come on later. You got that?” Calamity sounded irritated at having to remind her pet of what should be a given.

"Yes, yes. Tell me when it's my turn, my queen,” said the defeated gorilla, surely now demoted to the status of monkey. “Thank you, my queen government. Yes, I shall wait. They cannot escape—"

"Claude! What part of ‘shut up’ did you not recognize?” Calamity Horrid said in an overloud commanding voice.

Will sensed how insignificant Claude Nab must feel. He whispered to Holly, keeping his voice low so not to be heard outside the room. “Is there another way out of here sort of?"

"Not one I know of,” Holly said, matching Will's whisper.

"Another exit is out of the question,” Calamity said, her voice blasting through the door. “Forget whispering. I hear everything. I see everything. I control everything."

Will put his thumbs in his ears and waved his hands in a do-you-see-this-madam-ruler gesture.

"Your ears now have wings. To what purpose? Where do you plan to go? Your friends have been blown away, along with 5:00 A.M. Vicki.” Calamity's voice came in as strong as a clap of thunder. “Will, of course I see your rude gesture. What part of ‘I see everything’ do you not understand?"

"She's more of an ape than Claude,” Will said right into Holly's ear, in a voice even he couldn't hear.

"What part of I hear everything do you not understand?” Several seconds passed. Then, “You may proceed, my pet."

Claude Nab's voice growled in a strained way to match the malice of Calamity's threats. “You got no way to escape me!” His voice became apologetic. “And Calamity Horrid.” Another pause Will took as the gorilla asking permission to continue. “Outside your ride waits in vain, for nothing, to never again have a rider!"

"We are not dumb,” Calamity's voice slammed through the door. “Measures have been taken so there shall be no further escapes. Not ever! Do not worry yourself, Vicki will be returned. We must not allow 5:00 A.M. to go unscreamed. So enjoy your stay, Willis Dinker. You will be overjoyed to learn you are not expected to scream. Your sister has that job and none can take her place. If I wish you to scream, I shall have my Claude tear off a leg."

Hours passed and no further sounds came from the hallway, Will hoped Calamity and Claude had tired of their game and left.

Holly gave her brother a squeeze. “What are you thinking?"

Will kept his voice strong and assured; the opposite of what he felt. “Planning our return trip home. First, we'll have to wait for Calamity Horrid and Claude Nab to like get bored and leave the scene if they haven't already, don't you know.” He carefully used their full names in case they still listened. No need to rile them into an attack. “You can check on them when it's time for your scream. Then, we'll get to my cloud ride, Blanch Bunch. In case you escape without me, she's the white banana-shaped cloud. But we'll go it together, for sure. Then we'll ride back to Earth. Then, we'll try to find a way to explain where we've been for the past five years, don't you know. Like maybe make up something, for sure."

"Are we in trouble?"

Obviously he hadn't hid his doubt from her. “Yeah.” He looked into her eyes. “I think we need to find that Paul Winsome bloke before we can return. Something about his parallel-imagined-life. It gets kind of complicated, don't you know."

"I do now.” She hugged him.

Will wondered if she thought another five years would pass until they reached home. The possibility haunted him until another took over. Did Calamity Horrid and Claude Nab hear his whispered plan?

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A blustery gust blew Silk sideways. Vicki clung to her brother as Fawn held onto her, the three of them fighting the torrent of rain and wind trying to rip them from their mount. Silk's cloud unicorn body shivered and started to lose contour, her horn wavered and shimmered in and out of existence. Bolts of lightning zigzagged around them, followed closely by rolling peals of thunder, an angry teacher out to punish for the invasion of its sky. At least with Will gone Paul had one less person to worry about.

The tempest evicted them from the golden cloud in a storm swell of territorial jealously. Paul's fingers dug into Silk, holding on with all his strength.

With a call, almost drowned out by a clap of thunder, Isno cried, “Leave Huff meeee!” Huff started to distort. Isno tried to leap off his unsteady cloud but couldn't gain his footing for the leap.

Paul stared at his hands. His fingers dug into Silk were visible through the cloud's wavering body. Driving beads of icy rain chased them with relentless stinging projectiles, like tiny machine-gunned bullets in full attack.

"Oh, Master..."
the weak voice of Silk thought-transferred to Paul.
"Goodbye."

Silk's horn twisted in upon itself and her body blew apart. Paul, Vicki and Fawn went into freefall, holding onto each other as they dropped through the distressed atmosphere. Isno fell beside them even though high above them Huff still had some shape. Their bodies glowed as zigzagged bursts of blinding yellow-orange energy attacked within echoing barks of thunder.

Paul's breath came in gulps. Vicki and Fawn held onto him, attempting to stay together within the jabbing fingers of deadly light and sound assault. Isno had his four paws outstretched for a landing with nothing immediately obvious to land on. Paul grabbed Isno's tail and pulled him into the group.

In desperation, Paul squeezed his eyes shut and imagined peaceful skies. No more lightening and thunder. He daydreamed of tranquil beauty, saw their rides reforming, returning, and flying below them to end their fall. He could see it through his parallel-imagined-life. No more falling. He just wanted fun and he wanted it now. He opened his eyes.

The storm swatted at the sky, destroying any clouds which might offer a new mount. Three humans and one cat somersaulted and twisted, the tempest punching at them like mammoth transparent fists.

Closing his eyes tightly again, Paul tried to block out the blinding effect of the arcing light bursts. His ears rang from the instantaneous rumbling following each flash, unable to put fingers into his ears because of holding onto his sister, and Isno. Fawn clung to Vicki.

Isno's tail pulled lose from Paul's grasp and he whisked away, his feet flailing and his flipping tail attempting to act as a rudder. He screeched his fright and anger into the wind gusts. “Meeeeee help!"

"Find a cloud, Isno!” Paul cried, his voice being blown away on the wind.

Wait a minute. He still saw his mind-picture of peaceful skies within his parallel-imagined-life. He didn't dream Isno being gone. This nightmare ripped his reality into shreds and refused to be imagined into a peaceful conclusion.

He pursed his lips tighter and visualized Silk being reconstituted and soaring beneath them, to make a grand game-winning catch. The lightning and thunder became stronger, and the bullet-raindrops pelted them faster. Paul screamed a word he normally wouldn't use in mixed company. It didn't matter, the wind captured the word and twisted it into nothingness.

Fawn lost her grip on Vicki. Paul reached out catching her hand. He held on with every muscle. A bluster of wind stronger than the all the others, yanked her away like a whirling stomach consuming her. “Fawn!"

"Paul!” Fawn screamed, the storm fingers sinking into her and hurtling her into the surrounding darkness.

"Fawn...” Paul grabbed Vicki with both arms and strained to see Fawn, refusing to believe she had been lost. Icy sheets of rain battered the falling pair, the thunder and lightning seeming to laugh at their plight. “Hold on Sis!"

Wait a minute! Paul experienced dryness within the wet storm. Not coldness, but comfortable normal temperature. He saw Will ride off on Blanch. He didn't visualize losing Isno. Silk. Fawn. Huff. It didn't make sense.

Deep within the recesses of his mind he heard the calm voice of Maken Fairchild whisper.
'Realize the possibilities and magic will happen. It is in the imagination where all perception originates.'

Too late for Fawn or Isno, Paul's mind reached for the impossible. This sky tried to buck them off and stomp on them like a bull at a rodeo. Maybe he and Vicki could ride the storm like a bucking bronco. Eyes closed, he could visualize it.

Thoughts raced through his mind. Rodeo riders had saddles to hold onto. He needed a saddle. Simultaneous lightning flashes and thunder barks demanded his attention, tearing away any thought about his loss of Fawn and Isno.

The thunder and lightning were his saddle, the churning wind his wild steed. Paul and Vicki rode the bucking storm. Twisted, bounced and buffeted, they stayed upon their storm mount. The sky opened to swallow them whole as it had Fawn and Isno. He and Vicki must stay on board their bucking storm or they would become a part of its molecules, their lives changed forever within the storm rage.

Odd thoughts came to Paul. Did Isno use all of his lives in one grand sweep of nature? Would Will find his sister? Is it possible Fawn would find someone else to cling to? What happened to cloud rides after they lost their shape? Did Kid Badd get blown out of the sky? What was death like?

Paul concentrated and within his mind saw himself and Vicki flying beside Fawn. He tried several times and when opening his eyes realized he couldn't make it happen. Yet, he didn't feel cold or wet, so he continued to hold on to his parallel-imagined-life. The present moment would be ideal to hear a teaching from his dad or Maken Fairchild, but no inner voices spoke to him.

A terrible second later Vicki's grip pulled loose; she tore away from Paul and flew deeper into the storm. “Paulie!"

"Vicki!” She looked like a rag doll, flailing, her hair whipping around her head. Of all the crushing disappointments life could offer, this ranked above even his own final exit. In fact, death would be a relief. But what of saving the Earth solar system? Would his death mean the end to his entire world?

The voices he wished for came into his mind, two men speaking as one, Harry Winsome and Maken Fairchild. ‘
Time to take charge. Accept responsibility. Act as if fright does not exist.

Without hesitation, Paul envisioned himself next to Vicki. With eyes closed singleness of mind, he imaged her beside him as his sky storm bucked, twisted and tried to throw him off. He opened his eyes. Vicki flailed close enough for him to reach out and snatch her toward him. They fell and all parallel-life illusions evaporated into the reality of their death plunge. Now below the storm, they dropped through the lower clouds. His storm ride reared and stampeded away.

A giant horse cloud creature formed below him, with the body of a stallion and the head of a toothless, laughing lion. He imagined himself and Vicki landing on its back as the remains of the tempest barked and flashed above their heads, traveling further away.